I'm really getting sick of this thief on craigslist. [Archive] (2024)

Whipsmack

7th May 2009, 19:40

He lists a miata on EVERY craigslist in the US. It's always some outrageously low price with the same picture and of course never a phone number to call them.

How do scum bags get away with this? If you are intelligent enough to be a thief and evade the police then why the hell aren't you doing something useful with your life? I hope you get caught and shot in the face.

NJMedic

7th May 2009, 19:43

Billy

7th May 2009, 19:43

Exactly what is it he is doing wrong?

I'm not defending anything, just asking.

Whipsmack

7th May 2009, 19:51

Exactly what is it he is doing wrong?

I'm not defending anything, just asking.

Okay theres about 100 craigslists in the US. He lists on every single one with a bot and tries to scam people when they contact him by e-mail.

Billy

7th May 2009, 19:56

Okay theres about 100 craigslists in the US. He lists on every single one with a bot and tries to scam people when they contact him by e-mail.

How does the scam work? Would the scam work if potential buyers considered my signature?

Again, I'm not giving him any defense.

But scammers will wither and die in the face of moderatately intellegent consumers. It's like trolls in a forum. Don't feed them and they go away.

For example, you haven't sent him any money have you? Making you at least moderately intellegent!! ;)

'lilRedRide

7th May 2009, 20:02

But scammers will wither and die in the face of moderatately intellegent consumers. ;)

Good thing for him the world is full of greedy morons.

Caveat Emptor aint just cool Latin.

;)

BlueBlast

7th May 2009, 20:30

gludlow

7th May 2009, 20:38

How does the scam work? Would the scam work if potential buyers considered my signature?

Again, I'm not giving him any defense.

But scammers will wither and die in the face of moderatately intellegent consumers. It's like trolls in a forum. Don't feed them and they go away.

For example, you haven't sent him any money have you? Making you at least moderately intellegent!! ;)

Billy-
Your argument is that scams are ok, because if people fall for a scam, they should have seen it coming. Doesn't matter that it's illegal.

Just making sure we're all clear on that. Interesting, extreme position there. By extension, anyone can break any laws if they can get away with it. Cool!

Baston-Rob

7th May 2009, 21:40

Billy

7th May 2009, 22:45

Billy-
Your argument is that scams are ok, because if people fall for a scam, they should have seen it coming. Doesn't matter that it's illegal.

Just making sure we're all clear on that. Interesting, extreme position there. By extension, anyone can break any laws if they can get away with it. Cool!

Not at all. What part of the second sentence "Again, I'm not giving him any defense." illudes you?

All I'm saying is that scammers are the easiest type of crook to deal with, especially internet/craiglist types. They only survive or persist because they have success. Ignore them, and the scam is impossible to pull off.

seangh

7th May 2009, 23:20

Exactly what is it he is doing wrong?

I'm not defending anything, just asking.He's harvesting email addresses from the replies so he can then sell to spammers or other internet low lifes.

seangh

7th May 2009, 23:24

Not at all. What part of the second sentence "Again, I'm not giving him any defense." illudes you?

All I'm saying is that scammers are the easiest type of crook to deal with, especially internet/craiglist types. They only survive or persist because they have success. Ignore them, and the scam is impossible to pull off.How do people avoid this scam? It's a nice car for a really good price. Honestly, I would had fallen for this a while back if I was interested in that particular year. Not everyone is as miata savvy as users of this site.

RI ZoomZoom

7th May 2009, 23:32

I flagged Craigslist tonight, 2005 Miata selling for $3900 in about six cities across the US

Yup.... Just checked. He hit RI too.

http://providence.craigslist.org/cto/1159483808.html

Since it will be pulled SOON-

mazda mx miata only 4 years old - $3900 (Rhode Island)

The ac and heat work like new. Car is equipped with am/fm radio a cassette player and a cd player.This is your chance to buy a retail ready car at a wholesale price.
I obviously took a great deal of pride in the car, and all signs point ot it being properly maintained.This is a smoke-free automobile.The color of the car is Black Cherry and it's beautiful.

PostingID: 1159483808
* Location: Rhode Island

http://images.craigslist.org/3k43o93p2ZZZZZZZZZ9579a9074ad38511359.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/3k93oc3l2ZZZZZZZZZ95721ae04acc40412df.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/3m43o83laZZZZZZZZZ957767f30158fcb10f5.jpg
http://images.craigslist.org/3nf3k03o0ZZZZZZZZZ957063614cf97151df9.jpg

flipflop

7th May 2009, 23:35

While it might be more popular to post on an internet forum that "grrr, I'm mad" its a lot more reasonable to look at it like Billy explained.

If he truly is just harvesting email addresses, then you should email craigslist postings from a secondary email, on that if it gets spammed or whatnot doesn't get to your main email. You can use a fake name, fake address, whatever you'd like. I have one, have for a long time, for people that I'd like to contact about sales without them knowing my real email, name, etc and all the things attached to it like Facebook, Myspace, etc.

Now if this guy is pulling the whole, "the car is in X city, I can ship it to your city please send me a check for $XXXX and I will ship your car asap" then yes, if you fall for that kind of scheme, you deserved it. Does it suck that people get scammed, yea sure. I feel for them, but being a good consumer in a consumer based society is what you should strive for.

This is a new age, and you do have to be one step smarter than the smartest scammer. If you decided you wanted to contact this too good to be true poster inquiring about his car, atleast if its a scam someone got a fake email attached to nothing personal. If you contact him and ship a check to Nigeria, well then that's all you.

mwood

7th May 2009, 23:38

^ same ad in SF Bay Area :(

We've also had some craigslist ads that have led to armed robbery. Evidently, the gig is that the thieves advertise a car at a good "cash only" price, make arrangements to meet at an address which is in a quiet residential area, then hold up the potential buyers at gun point when they arrive.

I think I can usually sniff out the flakes and dangerous folks on CL, but if I have any doubts (whatsoever), I'll arrange the inital meet at a nearby shopping center. That way, there are lots of peeps around and nobody in their right mind is going to try to pull anything...

Santa Rosa Steve

7th May 2009, 23:46

He lists a miata on EVERY craigslist in the US. It's always some outrageously low price with the same picture and of course never a phone number to call them. Sounds like the same MO as the creep who advertises Acuras on all of the Craigslists here in the west... 2006 TSX for $5000 ( yeah right :rolleyes: )

Possibly in response to the same ads a few people have been approached in the East Bay by a masked guy with a gun when meeting to check out an Acura or BMW listing. One person even hit the guy with his car while fleeing after seeing the gun... :toast:

mad pup

8th May 2009, 02:22

That way, there are lots of peeps around and nobody in their right mind is going to try to pull anything...

That's the problem, often times they're not in their right minds!

Public meeting places are good. I'd also bring a friend. Always keep your guard up. Trust your instincts. All we can do is reduce our chances of being screwed.

Whipsmack

8th May 2009, 07:03

While it might be more popular to post on an internet forum that "grrr, I'm mad" its a lot more reasonable to look at it like Billy explained.

If he truly is just harvesting email addresses, then you should email craigslist postings from a secondary email, on that if it gets spammed or whatnot doesn't get to your main email. You can use a fake name, fake address, whatever you'd like. I have one, have for a long time, for people that I'd like to contact about sales without them knowing my real email, name, etc and all the things attached to it like Facebook, Myspace, etc.

Now if this guy is pulling the whole, "the car is in X city, I can ship it to your city please send me a check for $XXXX and I will ship your car asap" then yes, if you fall for that kind of scheme, you deserved it. Does it suck that people get scammed, yea sure. I feel for them, but being a good consumer in a consumer based society is what you should strive for.

This is a new age, and you do have to be one step smarter than the smartest scammer. If you decided you wanted to contact this too good to be true poster inquiring about his car, atleast if its a scam someone got a fake email attached to nothing personal. If you contact him and ship a check to Nigeria, well then that's all you.

You sicken me

Gary J Fischman

8th May 2009, 09:03

You sicken me
A bit harsh, dontja think?

You opened the door on this discussion. Nobody is defending scammers. They're just pointing out the futility of getting all worked up about it.

I agree, scammers suck. We have to deal with them every single day on this site. And yes, they anger me as well. And I'd like to obliterate them from the planet.

Gene-M

8th May 2009, 09:06

All I'm saying is that scammers are the easiest type of crook to deal with, especially internet/craiglist types. They only survive or persist because they have success. Ignore them, and the scam is impossible to pull off.

Billy's right. The only people who succumb to the greed of internet scammers, are those suffering from a streak of greed of their own; people who want things to come easy to them, who have a sense of entitlement, and who are willing to believe that if something is too good to be true, that it must be true anyway.

My bank has fliers mounted at every window outlining the basic internet scams. You would have to live in a cocoon not to be at least somewhat aware. The best is to keep flagging them. It would definitely be nice if eBay made that as easy as Craigslist or Miata.net does, and if the FBI had better resources for prosecuting these people, but for now, this is the situation we have to deal with. :rolleyes:

Haha, Gary just beat me to posting but apparently he has the same take on it that I do. :)

flipflop

8th May 2009, 11:13

You sicken me

Haha. Well you get as upset as you want about scammers and I'll continue to be proactive and protect myself.

Sheesh.

Mursilis

8th May 2009, 11:21

Billy's right. The only people who succumb to the greed of internet scammers, are those suffering from a streak of greed of their own; people who want things to come easy to them, who have a sense of entitlement, and who are willing to believe that if something is too good to be true, that it must be true anyway.

That's probably a bit harsh. There's a fine line between people chasing great deals (esp. on 'collectible' Miatas being sold by people who don't really know what they have, as has been posted here many times), and people so greedy they become gullible. Most of the people here love chasing great deals, but are at least educated enough not to get scammed. There's really nothing wrong with hunting for a good car (or any item) at an amazing price, as long as you're smart enough and wary enough not to fall victim to a scammer. I once responded to a craigslist ad listing a Mustang at a price bordering on incredible, and the 'seller' wanted me to put earnest money (fully refundable!!) in an escrow account before I could even see the car. Of course I walked away from what was an obvious scam.

Rich Wilkman

9th May 2009, 11:04

People who benefit from the ignorance of others are scumballs. That goes for the guy who finds a deal based on 'someone not knowing what they have' or the guy running the Nigerian scam.

-Rich

That's probably a bit harsh. There's a fine line between people chasing great deals (esp. on 'collectible' Miatas being sold by people who don't really know what they have, as has been posted here many times), and people so greedy they become gullible. Most of the people here love chasing great deals, but are at least educated enough not to get scammed. There's really nothing wrong with hunting for a good car (or any item) at an amazing price, as long as you're smart enough and wary enough not to fall victim to a scammer. I once responded to a craigslist ad listing a Mustang at a price bordering on incredible, and the 'seller' wanted me to put earnest money (fully refundable!!) in an escrow account before I could even see the car. Of course I walked away from what was an obvious scam.

wales

9th May 2009, 13:57

'lilRedRide

9th May 2009, 14:18

Public meet is good, public meet in the parking lot of the local P.D. is smart, the way we did it when returning cars or other property to R/O's. Why take dumb chances.

I just noticed it's an automatic, maybe its a real ad and thats why its so cheap.

:p

Rich Wilkman

9th May 2009, 20:13

Assuming you have some of the small amount of land where you actually have mineral rights, case law would suggest that yes, you would have recourse if I took advantage of you that way. But since it *would* be spelled out for you in the paperwork and deed transfer and all the other stuff required when transferring land in the US today, if you were too lazy to read it...

The prosecuting attorney also has to give the defense access to all their evidence and data, too.

Ethically, taking advantage of someone is wrong. Period. This isn't a legality or morality issue. It's not just okay when *you* get the Porsche from grandma for a thousand dollars. It's just a double dose of being a cad to then brag about it.

It's a different critter if neither of you know. Sort of like those 'I like how that pottery looked' deals at garage sales where they turn out to be made by someone famous.

And yes, I'm the guy that does tell someone what they have first if I know for sure. Even if it costs me more at the time or prices it out of my reach.

-Rich

That's a bit too black-and-white, no? If I have some scrub land to sell, and if your geological survey reveals oil under my land, is it unethical for you to pay my asking price knowing full well the oil is worth far more than the land? Should you tell me about the survey before closing the deal? Or let's just say you can utilize the land more efficiently than I can. Should you share some of your expected surplus with me or should you just pay the asking price? What if you had to expend considerable resources to achieve your information advantage? Do you then deduct that expense from your bid?

wales

9th May 2009, 22:36

But since it *would* be spelled out for you in the paperwork and deed transfer and all the other stuff required when transferring land in the US today, if you were too lazy to read it...So it's ok if the seller doesn't read the disclosures? That's a fine moral line you are walking. Is it ok to bury the info in a mountain of forms, or must the buyer flag it for the seller? Shouldn't we expect each party to do their own due diligence? Now I'm not suggesting the buyer should lie to or mislead the seller, but if the seller doesn't ask...

The prosecuting attorney also has to give the defense access to all their evidence and data, too.
Well, sure, but that's litigation not negotiation. Once litigation starts, the court is looking for Truth, which in not the case in negotiation.

Ethically, taking advantage of someone is wrong. Period.
I guess we have a different notion of what it is to take advantage of someone. Assuming we are dealing with a competent seller, I don't think the buyer is ethically required to point out to the seller the basis for the buyer's interest and/or bidding strategy. Are you ethically required to tell the seller what the FMV is, or just that the item isn't what the seller thinks it is? Alternatively, let's say the item has a FMV of $100, but because of your unique talents, it is worth $200 in your hands. Surely, if the seller knows you value the item at $200, the equilibrium price is $150. Are you ethically required to bid $150?

Mursilis

10th May 2009, 19:55

People who benefit from the ignorance of others are scumballs. That goes for the guy who finds a deal based on 'someone not knowing what they have' or the guy running the Nigerian scam.

-Rich

I've noticed the '93 Miata LE is a pretty desirable 'collector' Miata. Let's say you're looking for one, and you're willing to pay up to $8K for the right example. Let's say you see one on your local craigslist, and the seller only wants $5K (assuming that's well below market). Are you saying you'd toss the guy an extra $3K because that's what you, as a knowledgable Miata fan, know the car is worth to the collector community?